Home Office

Visas: Ministers of Religion

Lord Godson: To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) religious workers visas, and (2) Minister of Religion visas, have been issued to Iranian subjects since July 2015; who were those visas issued to; and what plans they have, if any, to review this system.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release. Data on ‘Religious Worker (previously Tier 5)’ visas issued to Iranian nationals are published in table Vis_D02 of the ‘Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes’ detailed datasets. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to Q4 (October to December) 2022.We are unable to discuss individual cases for GDPR reasons.There are no plans to review the Immigration Rules governing Religious Workers or Ministers of Religion.Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes (xlsx, 2326.8KB)

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government why only 22 Afghans have beenresettled underPathway 2 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Schemeas ofDecember 2022.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will see up to 20,000 people from Afghanistan and the region resettled to the UK over the coming years.Under the second pathway, which opened in 2022, we have now begun to receive the first referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) of vulnerable refugees who have fled Afghanistan for resettlement to the UK. Further detail can be found on the UNHCR website: UNHCR UK Information and Links on Afghanistan Situation - UNHCR United KingdomWe will continue to receive referrals to the scheme in coming years.The pace of actual arrivals will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR and the availability of suitable accommodation and support in the UK. As with existing and previous resettlement schemes, we will manage flows based on need and in support of the wellbeing of the people and communities involved.Those referred will be assessed for resettlement by UNHCR using their established processes.

Asylum

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of asylum seekers arriving in the UK by unofficial transit routes were eventually successful in their asylum claims in each of the last five years.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office publishes statistics on the asylum outcomes of small boat arrivals in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ report on gov.uk. The latest data is in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK, year ending December 2022’ release.The Home Office does not publish breakdowns for the asylum outcomes of people arriving by other irregular routes.‘Irregular migration to the UK - Dec 2022 (xlsx, 297.3KB)

Offences against Children

Lord Laming: To ask His Majesty's Government whatplans they have to ensure that every police force in England has specialist child protection teams.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The allocation of resources within forces is an operational decision for Chief Constables. To ensure that all forces have adequate children’s safeguarding measures in place, the police are held to account by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which scrutinises how well all police forces across England and Wales are responding to and safeguarding vulnerable children through its rolling programme of inspections.The Government is committed to improving the policing response to child protection, funding national programmes to develop and deliver an effective and victim-focused response safeguarding children. This includes a Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme which identifies and shares best practice across police forces, the Tackling Organised Exploitation Programme which helps police to uncover more offending against children, as well as a range of officer training programmes across all ranks to improve their confidence and capability to investigate and respond to child protection and safeguarding cases.

Home Office: Staff

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum decision-takers were employed by the Home Office in (1) 2015, (2) 2018, and (3) 2021.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The number of asylum decision makers employed by the Home Office each year between 2010/11 to 2021/22 can be found in the ASY_04 tab of the published immigration statistics located here: Immigration and protection data: Q4 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)We are taking immediate action to accelerate decision-making. Over the last 2 years we have doubled the number of asylum decision makers and we are continuing to recruit 2,500 more by September. We have also implemented a recruitment and retention allowance which has reduced decision maker attrition and helped to maintain experience.ASY_04 - Table  (xlsx, 1715.6KB)

Asylum: Personal Records

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what dispensations they provide to asylum seekers arriving in the UK who have lost any identifying documentation en route.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The effect on credibility of the failure or inability to provide evidence, such as documentation, will depend on all the circumstances, including on the nature of the evidence requested and whether it is reasonable to expect the claimant to be able to disclose or obtain it.

Eurostar: Immigration Controls

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to (1) the remarks byLord Murray of Blidworth on 28 February (HL Deb col 125) that "the service standard of a wait of no longer than 25 minutes for Border Force officers has been maintained throughout that period", and (2) the statement made by the chief executive of Eurostar, Gwendoline Cazenave, on 24 January that Eurostar are running trains more than a third empty, what is the current service standard of UK Border Force for each of the hours of operation in (a) St Pancras, (b) Paris, (c) Brussels, and (d) Amsterdam; and whether the same servicecould be achieved if Eurostar were able to run the trains full.

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to (1) the remarks byLord Murray of Blidworth on 28 February (HL Deb col 125) that "the service standard of a wait of no longer than 25 minutes for Border Force officers has been maintained throughout that period", and (2) the statement made by the chief executive of Eurostar, Gwendoline Cazenave, on 24 January that Eurostar are running trains more than a third empty, what discussions they are having with the governments of (a) France, (b) Belgium, and (c) the Netherlands, to facilitate increasing the passenger throughput; and what support they are giving to Eurostar to enable them to carry the full capacity of their trains without delay.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Border Force operate the same service standards across all international airports, ports and rail termini. The Border Force operation across international rail operates within published service standard levels. Border Force are only one part of a port ecosystem and we are unable to speculate on Eurostar commercial operations or the wider operation and capacity of port infrastructure and processes outside of our control.We have regular engagement with partner countries and continue to discuss with them, and Eurostar, future border arrangements and infrastructure availability’.

Department of Health and Social Care

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access: Life Sciences

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to theDepartment of Health and Social Care’s ongoing Voluntary Price and Access Scheme (VPAS) pre-negotiation workshops, what assessment they have made of the(1) the impact of VPAS 2019 on the UK life science sector, and (2) the implications for their negotiations on VPAS 2024.

Lord Markham: The Government is working to better understand the impacts of the operation of the current voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS) on the United Kingdom life sciences industry. We are in direct conversations with pharmaceutical companies, including in the recent pre-negotiation workshops, as well as with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Department for Business and Trade about the business environment for life sciences. The Government is open to ideas about how a successor to VPAS should operate from 2024 onwards. We are working with industry to agree a mutually beneficial successor that supports better patient outcomes; ensures the sustainability of National Health Service spend on branded medicines; and enables a strong UK life sciences industry.

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Department of Health and Social Care’s ongoing Voluntary Pricing and Access Scheme (VPAS) pre-negotiation workshops, how the discussions and insights gathered from (1) industry, and (2) civil society, will inform negotiations for VPAS 2024.

Lord Markham: The Department invited a range of stakeholders including industry bodies, patient organisations and civil society organisations to workshops which took place from January 2023 until March 2023. These workshops were a listening exercise that aimed to illicit a diverse range of perspectives. The insights taken from these workshops will be used to inform the preparations for negotiation of a successor to the 2019 voluntary scheme for branded medicines and pricing access.

NHS: Pensions

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposed changes to the NHS Pension Scheme on the retention of (1) trauma, and (2) orthopaedic, surgeons.

Lord Markham: The Department recently consulted on a range of pensions measures, including new retirement flexibilities to enable National Health Service staff to work more flexibly up to and beyond retirement age, and changes to scheme rules to address inflation. The Department confirmed on 7 March 2023 that it intends to implement the measures as planned.The changes will remove barriers for experienced staff, including trauma and orthopaedic surgeons, retiring and returning to work and will allow them to draw down some or all of their pension but continue working and building more pension benefits. Staff affected by Annual Allowance (AA) charges will be able to reduce pensionable pay on partial retirement to avoid AA charges without necessarily reducing overall work commitments.By fixing the unintended impacts of inflation, the changes will also help to retain senior clinicians affected by pension tax who might otherwise reduce their workloads or take early retirement.

Prescription Drugs: Addictions

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherthey will fund a national helpline and website for people suffering from prescribed drug dependency, as recommended by Public Health England in 2019.

Lord Markham: This helpline recommendation formed part of a wider set of actions to improve the support available from the healthcare system to people who are dependent on prescription drugs. NHS England has been the facilitator of system partners in their work to deliver the review recommendations. In March 2023, NHS England published ‘Optimising personalised care for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: Framework for action for ICBs and primary care’. A copy is attached. This document includes five actions, resources and case studies that will help systems to develop plans that can support people who are taking medicines associated with dependence and withdrawal symptoms.NHS England prescribed medicines guidance (pdf, 2950.1KB)

Food: Arsenic

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government, following changes in EU standards regarding the maximum level of arsenic in food, what plans they have toamendthe standards for maximum level of arsenic in food.

Lord Markham: There are no immediate plans to revise the standards for arsenic in food. To protect consumers there are currently maximum levels in place for inorganic arsenic in foods such as rice which contribute to overall consumer exposure. We will always maintain strong rules on arsenic levels in food and keep our position under very close review guided by the risk analysis undertaken by the Food Standards Agency. We work closely with regulators across Europe and the rest of the world to ensure that we take account of global best practice and prioritise safety for our citizens.

NHS Digital: Data Protection

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 6 March (HL5675), which dataset(s) was the source of the SNOMED CT codes and dates shared; and why unprotected NHS numbers and unprotected dates of birth were included.

Lord Markham: Cohorting as a Service uses SNOMED CT Codes from general practitioner (GP) practice extracts, with data being collected using the General Practice Extraction service. This collection is supported by the British Medical Association, Royal College of General Practitioners and National Data Guardian, and collects a specific set of patient data from GP practices in England on a fortnightly basis.The data includes personally identifiable information such as National Health Service number and date of birth because the information is required for delivering direct care. The NHS England vaccination programme uses the information to identify and contact patients who fall within clinically ‘at-risk’ groups within an age group.The Secretary of State or NHS England issue Directions for information collection, then approval for collection is obtained, confirming that the Information Standard, Collection or Extraction has been through assessment and is demonstrated to meet the quality assurance criteria set by the Data Alliance Partnership Board.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ukraine: Abduction

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of Russia has transferred thousands of children from Ukraine to Russia for “re-education”; what are the relevant provisions of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in respect of any such actions; and what steps, if any, they plan to take in response to these reports.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Conflict Observatory report supports growing evidence of large-scale forced transfers of Ukrainian civilians. The UK calls on Russia to cease this practice. Forcibly transferring children of one group to another may constitute genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. We are supporting Ukraine's domestic investigations and the International Criminal Court investigations into war crimes, and Ukraine's application against Russia before the International Court of Justice. On 8 March, I met the UN Special Representative for Children & Armed Conflict to discuss the international response. On 16 June 2022, we sanctioned the Russian Children's Rights Commissioner for her role in the forced transfers.

UEFA Champions League Final 2022 Independent Review

Lord Birt: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 March (HL5638), what steps they plan to take, if any, to support the implementation of recommendations related to policing atfuture UEFA Champions League Finalsin the independent review of the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final, chaired by Dr Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, particularly (1) Recommendation 7, and (2) Recommendation 8; and whether they intend to ask the government of France to seek from the French police (a) a response to these recommendations, and (b) an apology to Liverpool FC fans for the treatment they received.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: HMG has been clear that the events at last year's Champions League Final were unacceptable. We welcome the French Government's apologies to fans and acknowledgement that mistakes were made. While it is for the French authorities to implement the recommendations made in subsequent reviews, we continually engage with them on major event security, including lessons from the management of the Champions League Final.

Turkey: Politics and Government

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will be represented by observers at the Kobani trial in Turkey of members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: British Embassy officials have been monitoring the Kobane trials in person and, whenever possible, will continue to do so, alongside other like-mind missions. We follow events in Turkey carefully, particularly government moves to close down the People's Democratic Party (HDP), the lifting of immunity for its MPs, and the replacement of opposition mayors by state-appointed officials. While these decisions are for the Turkish Government, we expect Turkey to undertake legal processes fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law.

Yang Chih-yuan

Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the treatment of Taiwanese national and activist Yang Chih-yuan, who was arrested in Zhejiang, China, in August 2022, meets international standards on the treatment of prisoners, including the United Nations' Nelson Mandela Rules.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: There are increasing restrictions on civil and political rights and freedom of expression in China. The UK Government continues to monitor the treatment of prisoners in China, including Yang Chih-yuan. We regularly raise human rights and freedom of speech concerns directly with the Chinese authorities and in multilateral fora. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on 20 February 2023.

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the (1) opportunities for, and (2) restrictions on, consumers in Northern Ireland seeking to (a) purchase, and (b) have delivered, (i) plants, (ii) trees, and (iii) seed potatoes, from Great Britain under the Windsor Framework.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Under the Windsor Framework, growers in Northern Ireland can access seed potatoes from GB which remain prohibited in Ireland. This was not possible under the old Protocol. Garden centres, farmers and gardeners can access GB plants, trees and other products considerably more easily than in Ireland. Instead of full EU certification, all plants and seeds, including seed potatoes will move under a similar mechanism to the UK-wide plant passport scheme, in line with traders throughout the UK. That means rather than paying £150 per movement into Northern Ireland, growers and businesses serving Northern Ireland consumers can pay £120 a year to be part of the UK scheme.

South Sudan: Land Mines

Baroness Northover: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 7 March (HL5764),whether they will now answer the question put; namely, what assistance theywill provide to the government of South Sudan to enable that country to meet its international obligations under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention to become free of landmines.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The Global Mine Action Programme (GMAP), the FCDO's main vehicle for clearing landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW), has a long-standing commitment to funding demining in South Sudan. Between 2018 and 2022, GMAP provided funding for UK NGO the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to clear 1,829,632 square metres of land in South Sudan. GMAP signed a new contract with MAG for Financial Year 22/23, which, as of end December 2022, had cleared an additional 168,563 square metres of land there. We are currently negotiating with MAG a new contract for South Sudan to run from April 2023.

Cameroon: Peace Negotiations

Lord Boateng: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the prospects of external mediation of a peace process in Cameroon following the government of Cameroon’s rejection of the government of Canada’s initiative to mediate talks between parties to the current internal conflict.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: Inclusive dialogue is critical to achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the North-West South-West regions of Cameroon. The UK continues to raise this with the Government of Cameroon and to encourage commitment to a peace process. The Minister of State for Development and Africa [Minister Mitchell], met with Cameroon's Minister of Defence in January and the Deputy Foreign Minister in March to press for continued mediation efforts. The UK is also responding to the impacts of the conflict with humanitarian assistance.

Zimbabwe: Elections

Lord Boateng: To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to the government of Zimbabwe to monitor elections in that country; and what steps they have taken to support any initiative by (1) the African Union, or (2) other multilateral (a) governmental, or (b) non-governmental, organisations in respect of those elections.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK is working alongside international partners to prepare support for domestic and international election observation missions however, as is standard practice, invitations for observation mission will not be issued by the Government of Zimbabwe until the election date is announced. Alongside a small British Embassy Harare electoral monitoring mission, we hope to see larger electoral missions from the African Union, Southern African Development Community, EU, Commonwealth and other NGOs.

Job Sikhala

Lord Boateng: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the arrest and detention of Zimbabwean MP Job Sikhala, and (2) its implications for the prospects of a free and fair election in that country in the coming year.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK is aware of the trend of lengthy detention of government critics in Zimbabwe. We continue to monitor the ongoing detention of Job Sikhala MP, including through direct observation of court hearings. As the British Ambassador publicly stated on October 2, the UK is committed to the fundamental right to peaceful assembly and association as enshrined in Zimbabwe's constitution. It is for the people of Zimbabwe to choose their government through peaceful, credible and inclusive elections. We encourage the Government of Zimbabwe to implement the recommendations of the 2018 Electoral Observation Missions and to allow space for political opposition and civil society organisations to operate freely ahead of elections in 2023.

Eritrea: Humanitarian Aid

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in Eritrea (1) to uphold thedemocratic freedoms of Eritreans, and (2)to ensure that cross-border access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance remains open for civil society organisations working in Eritrea.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The British Embassy in Asmara regularly raises human rights issues with the Eritrean Government, encouraging the full implementation of the agreed recommendations of the 2019 UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review. This year the UK, working in partnership with UNICEF, provided £700,000 to support integrated nutrition, health, and sanitation programmes that will reach 200,000 women and children across Eritrea. Throughout the conflict in northern Ethiopia, the UK consistently called for unfettered humanitarian access to all those impacted by the conflict, including through statements at the UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council.

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of thepercentage of goods going through the green lane that will be routinely checked under the Windsor Framework.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Trusted traders will not face routine checks on goods moving in the green lane. The only checks will be risk-based and intelligence-led, such as to target smuggling or criminality in the green lane.

Pets: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what documents will need to be completed by pet owners in Northern Ireland to enable them to bring their pets to and from Great Britain under the Windsor Framework.

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government how the (1) rules, and (2) processes, for transport of pets to and from Great Britain will differ under the Windsor Framework from the position prior to 2019.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: There are no documentary requirements whatsoever for Northern Irish pets moving to Great Britain and back to Northern Ireland. Pet owners in Great Britain will be able to travel with their pets without costs, burdens or health treatments. For pet owners visiting Northern Ireland from Great Britain, the only requirement will be to confirm that the pet is microchipped and will not move into the EU. This will be in the form of a travel document issued for the lifetime of a pet, available online and electronically in a matter of minutes; or an equally seamless process built into the booking process for a flight or ferry. This avoids cumbersome bureaucracy and unnecessary checks, meaning efforts can be focused on real-world welfare, disease or smuggling risks with checks on Great Britain-Northern Ireland movements, operating on a risk and intelligence-led basis.

Agricultural Products: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government whether manufacturers of non sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) products in Great Britain will be able to transport completed product, intended for end sale in Northern Ireland, through the proposed green lane under the Windsor Framework.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Yes.

UK Trade with EU

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the (1) threshold, and (2) criteria, for a business to qualify for trusted trader status under the Windsor Framework.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Windsor Framework significantly expands the range of businesses who can benefit from trusted trader status. Businesses throughout the United Kingdom will now be eligible - moving away from the previous restrictions that required a physical premises in Northern Ireland. Criteria for businesses to qualify includes basic record keeping of goods movements, a good compliance record and no history of serious criminal offences related to their economic activity. There is no threshold for a business to be eligible for the scheme.

Department for Transport

A12 and A13: Litter

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the state of litter collection on (a) the A13, and (b) the A12, and (2) whether National Highways is meeting its obligations to keep these roads clean.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: National Highways is responsible for keeping the A13 clear of litter and refuse as far as is practicable. Relevant Local Authorities hold this responsibility along the A12. National Highways has committed to report a litter performance indicator during the second Road Investment Strategy 2020-25. Specific regional assessments are the responsibility of National Highways and relevant local duty bodies. In 2021/22 National Highways reported that 60.8% of relevant parts of the Strategic Road Network had no litter, refuse or detritus, or was predominately free of litter, refuse or detritus apart from some small items.

Motorways: Litter

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government how many prosecutions there have been of individuals dropping or dumping litter on motorways in England in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Prosecutions for littering offences on motorways are carried out by appropriate organisations for each case, including Local Authorities, the Police, the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency and the Environment Agency. Therefore, Government does not hold a total number for prosecutions. Each individual organisation noted may have relevant numbers regarding the amount of prosecutions for littering offences on motorways in England in each of the past five years.

National Highways

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessmentthey havemade of the overall performance of National Highways.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: National Highways is making progress towards its performance and delivery targets in the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2, 2020-2025). Since the start of RIS2 National Highways has started work on 11 schemes, four of which were started ahead of the committed date. It has also completed work on 19 schemes that have opened to traffic and continues to deliver on 16 schemes that are currently in construction. There have however been legal challenges to planning consent for several schemes, concerns around smart motorways and high levels of inflation that have had a significant impact on overall delivery of the portfolio both in terms of cost and schedule. National Highways and the Department have taken steps to address, learn from and respond to these challenges. Consequently, this has resulted in the need to replan 22 of the 69 major enhancements to ensure the Capital Portfolio remains deliverable and affordable.

Cycling: Urban Areas

Lord Swire: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of whether existing legislation relating to cycling in urban areas is fit for purpose.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The rules of the road for people who cycle, in both the urban and rural environment, are set out in The Highway Code. The elements of the Code that relate to walking and cycling were updated in 2022 following a public consultation. The Government is satisfied that the rules are fit for purpose, and enforcement of any breaches of them is a matter for the police. The Government is considering bringing forward legislation to introduce new offences in relation to dangerous cycling, to tackle cases where victims have been killed or seriously injured by irresponsible cycling behaviour. This follows an earlier review exploring the case for specific dangerous cycling offences, to which the Department will publish a response as soon as it can.

Roads: Accidents

Lord Hogan-Howe: To ask His Majesty's Government how many road traffic collisions involving a cyclist and a pedestrian were reported to the police in England and Wales in each of the last five years; and what was the recorded severity of the injuries resulting fromthose collisions.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The number of reported personal injury collisions between a pedal cyclist and a pedestrian in England and Wales, and the resulting casualties by severity of injury, in each of the last 5 years for which data are available is shown in the table. YearTotal collisionsTotal casualtiesFatalitiesSeriously injured casualtiesSlightly injured casualties2017488626414747520184285441159384201936244841443002020278343411222720213844620140322

Attorney General

Pedestrians: Prosecutions

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherthe Attorney General will review the sentence of three years for manslaughter given to a pedestrian who remonstrated with a cyclist riding on the pavement on the basis that it is unduly harsh.

Lord Stewart of Dirleton: It is believed this is a reference to the case of Auriol Grey who was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court on 2 March 2023 to 3 years’ imprisonment for manslaughter. The Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme works only to increase sentences that are too low so that they appear unduly lenient. The Law Officers cannot consider whether a sentence is unduly harsh or take any action if it appears to be so. An offender may appeal against their sentence if they consider it to be manifestly excessive.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Hydrogen: Heating

Baroness Worthington: To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect the neighbourhood trial, referred to in the impact assessment on the Hydrogen Heating Village Grid Conversion, published on 6 July 2022, to (1) commence, (2) conclude, and (3) report; and what measures they will use to evaluate its success.

Lord Callanan: The neighbourhood trial is SGN’s H100 Fife project in Levenmouth. SGN plans to deliver hydrogen to consumers in mid-2024 and conclude by 2027. SGN provides evidence and regular progress updates to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ofgem and the Health and Safety Executive. They also produce an annual report in accordance with conditions set by Ofgem, who part funds the project H100’s evidence is already shaping plans for the village trial, including on costs and regulatory challenges. Alongside evidence from the village trial, H100 will inform the Government’s strategic decisions in 2026 on the role of hydrogen in decarbonising heat.

Hydrogen: Heating

Baroness Worthington: To ask His Majesty's Government why they are taking powers to impose a village trial of hydrogen heating before the completion of the neighbourhood trial and the publication of the analysis of the findings from that trial.

Lord Callanan: The neighbourhood trial will transport hydrogen through pipes laid parallel with the existing natural gas network. It is providing valuable evidence on costs, regulatory changes, risk management and consumer engagement. This work is informing the design and delivery of the village trial. The village trial is providing evidence on a greater number and diversity of consumers and building types, and on the process of converting the gas network. Evidence from both trials will inform Government’s 2026 strategic decisions on the role of hydrogen in heat decarbonisation.

Small Businesses: Carbon Emissions

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them transition to net zero.

Lord Callanan: Over 3,700 UK small businesses have joined the UN’s Race to Zero initiative, accounting for 70% of the current global total. This is in addition to two thirds of the FTSE 100.The Government supports SMEs by promoting the UK Business Climate Hub, which is embedded on the SME Climate Hub, and forms part of the global Race to Zero campaign. Here businesses can access a suite of tools for measuring, reducing and reporting on their emissions. These include a carbon calculator tool developed by Google.org and Normative, and the Climate Fit modular education course.

Ministry of Defence

Ukraine: Ammunition

Lord Hylton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether any of the ammunition currently being supplied to Ukraine contains depleted uranium.

Baroness Goldie: Alongside our granting of a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, we will be providing ammunition including armour piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium. Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armoured vehicles.

Department for Education

Adoption: Children in Care

Lord Laming: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to improve the rate of adoption of children in care, when adoption is in the child’s best interests.

Baroness Barran: As set out in the department’s Adoption Strategy: Achieving Excellence Everywhere, we are committed to improving the matching of approved adopters with children waiting to be found new homes. The strategy can be found attached.£5 million has been committed for 2022 to 2025 to support Regional Adoption Agency Leaders to focus specifically on reducing the number of children who wait over 18 months for homes from the time of a court placement order being given. Some progress has already been made. This number has fallen from 390 in March 2020 to 240 in September 2022, but the department wants to see further and faster progress.In addition, government funded recruitment campaigns are helping to provide a greater sufficiency of adopters, as well as targeted campaigns with a focus on recruiting adopters who are more likely to give a loving home to the children who wait the longest to be adopted.HL6149_pdf (pdf, 644.4KB)

Schools: Absenteeism

Lord Laming: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to reduce persistent truanting in schools.

Baroness Barran: The government has a comprehensive attendance strategy to ensure that absence is minimised. The department has recently published guidance setting out how we expect schools, trusts and local authorities to work together to improve attendance, which is available in the attached document.The guidance is clear that schools should develop and maintain a whole school culture that promotes the benefits of high attendance, have a clear school attendance policy, and have effective day to day processes in place to follow-up absence.The guidance sets out that schools are expected to use attendance data to identify patterns of poor attendance (at individual and cohort level) as soon as possible so that all parties can work together to resolve them before they become entrenched. To help schools to do this, the department has recently launched new functionality which allows mainstream schools that are sharing daily attendance data to compare attendance with other schools within their own local authority. This can be seen under the ‘compare your attendance tab’ via GOV.UK’s ‘View your education data’ site at: https://viewyourdata.education.gov.uk/. The tool will help schools to identify strengths and priorities and signpost to additional guidance and support.The department has employed expert attendance advisers who are playing an important role working closely with local authorities and a number of multi-academy trusts with higher levels of persistent absence to review their current practice and support them to develop plans to improve. The department has also recently launched a £2.32 million attendance mentor pilot to deliver intensive one-to-one support to a group of persistently and severely absent pupils. The pilot will run for three years supporting a total of 1,665 pupils. The findings from this pilot should enable schools, trusts, and local authorities to address persistent and severe absence more effectively.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has also established an Alliance of national leaders from education, children’s social care and other relevant services to work together to raise school attendance and reduce persistent absence. Schools and local authorities can also use a range of measures to provide support for and/or sanctions against parents when their child’s irregular attendance in school becomes a problem. These measures are used to reinforce parents’ responsibilities and to support them in improving their child’s attendance at school.HL6147_pdf (pdf, 595.0KB)

Agriculture: Education

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to promote agriculture in the (1) primary, and (2) secondary, school curriculum; and how much funding they have allocated for this purpose since 2007.

Baroness Barran: There are opportunities within the geography and science curriculum to teach about farming, although farming does not feature as a stand alone topic in the national curriculum. The national curriculum is a framework designed to give teachers the freedom and flexibility to cover particular topics in greater depth if they wish.In geography, schools must teach pupils to describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water. This could include teaching about the role of farming in producing food.At secondary, pupils are taught to understand how human and physical processes interact to influence and change landscapes, environments and the climate, which could include teaching about farming.Both the Geographical Association and Royal Geographical Society have resources available for teachers which explain the importance of farming, including resources linked to farm visits, farming practice in other countries, the importance of soil, and many other topics.As part of the Design and Technology curriculum for 5 to 14 year olds, cooking and nutrition education is compulsory in state maintained schools. Schools are required to teach pupils where food comes from, understand source and seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed. The curriculum aims to teach children how to cook and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and good nutrition. It recognises that cooking is an important life skill that helps children to feed themselves and others healthy and affordable food.In Key Stage 4 biology, pupils are taught the importance of selective breeding of plants and animals in agriculture.

Schools: Migrants

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they adjust the schools curriculum to meet the needs of areas with a high number of immigrants.

Baroness Barran: Maintained schools in England are legally required to follow the National Curriculum as a piece of statutory guidance.Within a broad statutory framework, schools have considerable flexibility to organise the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils.In addition to meeting their statutory duties, schools are also free to include additional subjects or topics they deem relevant for their pupils, as part of the school’s wider curriculum.Academies and free schools have greater freedom and autonomy in how they operate for areas such as the curriculum, but they are expected to teach a curriculum that is comparable in breadth and ambition to the National Curriculum.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

House of Lords: Shops

Lord Dobbs: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many products originating from China are stocked by the House of Lords gift shop outlets; and what plans there are to reduce or to remove entirely all such products.

Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall: The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf.The gift shop does not trade directly with any suppliers from China. However, the shop sells 14 product lines originating from China. In other instances it may not be possible to certify the source. All suppliers carry trading accreditations related to labour rights, health and safety, the environment and business ethics. There are currently no plans to change these suppliers, although the gift shop regularly reviews its choice of suppliers.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Sentences

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government whatforecast they have made of the number of people who will be in prison serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence, in each of the next five years.

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government whatforecast they have made of the number of people who will be in prison serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence having never been released from custody, in each of the next five years.

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government whatforecast they have made of the number of people who will be in prison serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence having been recalled to custody, in each of the next five years.

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government whatforecast they have made of the number of (1) first releases from custody, (2) recalls to custody, and (3) re-releases from custody having been recalled, of people serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence, in each of the next five years.

Lord Bellamy: The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. By law, prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined. The HM Prison and Probation Service IPP Action Plan remains the route by which IPP offenders can be supported to progress towards safe release. As per the Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s report on the IPP sentence, work to refresh the Action Plan is already underway. The modelling of the IPP population will be revised to take account of any potential impact delivered through the refreshed IPP Action Plan, due to be published at the end of March. The Action Plan promotes the progression of offenders serving the IPP sentence. Future prison population forecasts will factor in the impact of the refreshed Action Plan.